1. St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Diocese
An Introduction
St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Diocese
Eleanor Stead
Acting Chief Executive

2. Agenda Introduction to the PGS How it Works Unique Benefits About Us
Data Security & Financing of the Scheme
Q&A

3. What is the PGS?
The Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) is a direct-debit facility originally developed by the Diocese of Gloucester to provide a professional, effective donation management system to support parishes in funding their mission and ministry.
Donations made through this scheme use a Direct Debit.
This can be made on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.
Each donation is restricted to a parish church.
Gift Aid is reclaimed and passed onto the parish directly.
Separate Charitable Organisation, Company Limited by guarantee (In British and Irish company law, a company limited by guarantee (LBG) is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A company limited by guarantee does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as guarantors.)
Been going for 9 years now, not a new scheme

4. Committed Christian Giving
Regular & One off Gifts
Serves the Church Family
GA & Non GA Donors
S,M,L Churches & Gifts
Replace the Volunteer
Process all Giving
GASDS (not yet…)
Solve all your Problems
Won’t be for Everyone

5. How does it work?

6. PGS Statement

7. Why we developed the PGS
Keep pace with the Charity Sector
Improve and Engage with the Donor Journey
To Grow our Mission and Ministry
Lighten the Burden Locally (Recruiting Successor)
Offer our Parishes Unique Benefits

8. Giving to rise in line with inflation annually
Unique Benefit 1
Combats Static Giving
Giving to rise in line with inflation annually

9. Gift increases in line with Retail Price Index (3.2%)
Why is this Important?
In 2017
£50 + £12.50 Gift Aid = £62.50
Gift increases in line with Retail Price Index (3.2%)
By 2027
£ £17.30 Gift Aid = £85.64
Extra £ a year

10. tick the inflationary increase box (opt in)
How many?
55% of donors
tick the inflationary increase box (opt in)
Annual Review
SUPER INFLATION!!!

11. Increases the Level of Giving
Unique Benefit 2
Increases the Level of Giving
How we give influences
How much we give

12. Example Winchester Liverpool Gloucester
Average Weekly Giving (Diocese)
£12.25
£10.58
£9.60
Average Weekly Giving (PGS)
£19.27
+57%
£14.73
+39%
£14.77
+48%
Also because it is launched alongside a giving initiative
Source: 2014 Parish Finance Returns, PGS data for 2016

13. Administered Centrally
Unique Benefit 3
Delivered Locally
Administered Centrally

14. £4 MILLION Every Monday Morning…
….across all the parishes in Church of England how much cash (collected at the Sunday services) is taken to the bank?
£4 MILLION

15. 26 out of 40 Mainland Dioceses
GLOUCESTER
WINCHESTER
CHICHESTER
EXETER
LIVERPOOL
CHELMSFORD
TRURO
PORTSMOUTH
LEICESTER
GUILDFORD
BIRMINGHAM
ST ALBANS
LONDON
NEWCASTLE
SALISBURY
ELY
BRISTOL
DERBY
ST EDS & IPS
OXFORD
HEREFORD
SHEFFIELD
DURHAM
LINCOLN
LEEDS
WORCESTER
Live prior to 2017
Live in 2017
Launching in 2018
2019 (and beyond)
26 out of 40 Mainland Dioceses

16. Who are we? Members Have ultimate responsibility Sign off accounts
Participating Dioceses who:
Have ultimate responsibility
Sign off accounts
Elect trustees
Trustees
John Preston, Chair and National Stewardship Officer
Victoria James, Stewardship Advisor – Portsmouth
Benjamin Preece Smith, Diocesan Secretary: Gloucester
Rebecca Evans, Stewardship Advisor – Truro
John Sherlock, Strategy & Resources – Chichester
David Brooke, Lead Mission Support Partner – Durham
Neil Williams, Finance Director – Exeter
Adrian Beney, Fundraising Consultant – More Partnership
Company limited by guarantee Registered England No
Registered Charity No

17. Who are we? PGS Team Eleanor Stead, Acting Chief Executive
Helen Taylor, Head of Operations
Gail, Steph, Kim & Sue
Team of 4 Administrators / Customer Services

18. January 2017 • Received over £1.9m gifts
•   Claimed just under £435k Gift Aid
•   Received from over 25,075 donors
•   Forwarded to 1,357 parishes
•   Entered 926 new donors onto the PGS
•   Registered 55 new parishes to the scheme
•   Issued 964 inflationary increase
•   Handled 1,520 administrative changes

19. Is it Secure? Restricted Donations Direct Debit Guarantee
Industry Standard Database (CARE)
Fidelity Insurance in Place
3. Full adherence to Data Protection Act (+ incoming GDPR)
Policies in Place (Data, Security, Privacy, Acceptable Use)
Externally Audited once a year
As a a data controller we take data processing incredibly seriously
Personal and Sensitive data
No direct marketing
Only contact for a genuine purpose
Externally audited once a year

20. 10,431 planned givers = £1.15 per donor p/a
How is the PGS financed?
Diocesan Membership Fee = £20,000
Annual Services Contribution = £12,000
After 3 years £ % of donors on scheme
10,431 planned givers = £1.15 per donor p/a
Free at the point of service for parishes
Equivalent to 4 hours of paid volunteer time
Cost of envelope scheme is approx. £60 - £80)

21. Parish Giving Scheme
The story so far…
Top Tips
What others say…

22. 1. The story so far 22

23. Pilot: Jan 2012 Launch: Sept 2012 Results so far…
The Diocese of Winchester : The story so far…
Pilot: Jan 2012
Launch: Sept 2012
Results so far…

24. The Diocese of Winchester : The story so far…
165 Parishes registered
4,221 Donors
£5 Million received in 2017
£20 Average weekly gift before Gift Aid 24

25. 2. Top Tips 25

26. The Diocese of Winchester : Top Tips…
Start with your PCC
Seek some trusted & respected ‘Ambassadors’
Plan some form of ‘Giving Initiative’ to launch to the PGS as your preferred method of giving
Stamped Addressed Envelope
Ongoing - use your annual review 26

27. 3. What others say 27

28. What others say…
The Parish Giving Scheme really helps maintain cash flow with no effort involved for Treasurers. It makes it easier to budget based on a committed regular income and is simple to set up and run. I thoroughly recommend it!
Carolyn Allen, Stewardship Promoter, St James, Pokesdown, Bournemouth. 28

29. What others say…
Speaking as treasurer of a church that had about 300 monthly standing orders (and all the admin that goes with that), I am very pleased we are moving over to PGS. 
About 40% of orders transferred on the initial request and 6 months later we are up to 60%.  PGS have offered consistently good service and our volunteer giving coordinator is relieved to have technical support and a lower workload
David Boul, Treasurer, Christ Church, Winchester 29

30. What others say…
The Scheme has significantly improved our cash flow and has also reduced the administrative burden placed on our finance volunteers.
Would you like to work less hours and have more money coming into your church more quickly? If the answer is yes to this question, then get on the PGS bus!
The Revd. Tim Sledge, Vicar, Romsey Abbey 30

31. What others say…
Just do it!  It's quick, convenient, efficient, saves a huge amount of work for the people who count and account for the money given, and helps the church to budget efficiently and be better stewards of money and time.
The Revd. John Wigmore, Rector, Winklebury & Worting 31

32. How to Get Started
Graham Hedger
Stewardship Advisor

33. STEP 1: Register PCC meet and pass a Resolution
PCC complete registration form & send to GH
GH sends to PGS Team and they register details
GH provides materials & unique church code

34. STEP 2: Plan Launch Find a handful of people to join first
Ask for their experience & to provide testimony
Plan your giving review
Receive PGS materials & unique church code stickers
Customise pack (if required)

35. STEP 3: Launch PGS Deliver giving review
Offer PGS as the preferred method of giving
Hand out Donor Packs
Donors will send their forms to PGS Team
PGS Team registers donor & sends welcome letter

36. STEP 4: PGS On-going Start receiving Donations & Gift Aid
Register on website to receive Statements
Remind non PGS donors about joining
Celebrate & share success stories of PGS
Revisit every 6 months or so

37. Support Materials
Parish Implementation Guide - each parish will have a copy
Registration Form
Donor Pack and inserts
Collection plate token

38. Support Materials Diocesan website documents available for download
Stewardship Advisor
I am here to support you

39. Stewardship principles

40. Stewardship principles
It’s about discipleship
An offering of our whole life
Time, talents, treasure
Martin Luther – ‘the last thing to be converted is the purse’

41. Stewardship principles
Regular
Proportionate
Joyful

42. Why launch with a review?

43. Encouraging Generosity
Key Objectives:
Connect Giving with Faith
Giving Enables Mission & Ministry
Giving is Valued by the Church
Encouraging giving in a parish can feel daunting, but it need not be so.  Some simple tasks can set the right climate for people to review their giving and levels of generosity. When these are done well, a number of important objectives are achieved. Church members then :
connect their giving with their faith, seeing their giving as a response to the giving of a generous God.
understand that their giving enables mission and ministry, rather than simply paying the bills.
feel that they, and their gifts, are valued by the church

44. Four Easy Options Giving in Grace Generous God, Generous People
Giving for Life: Continuing the Journey
Smaller and Rural Churches Giving Programme

45. Common elements… Christian input (Preaching, prayer & reflection)
Financial needs of the church
Church Vision / Mission Impact
Pledge / Response

46. Giving in Grace Website URL www.givingingrace.org
Medium / Larger Churches
Pledge based giving programme / annual review
Breadth of resources
Preaching & Teaching
Teens and Young People

47. Generous God, Generous people Website URL www.cofesuffolk.org/
Teaching resource for individuals and home groups
Link with Giving in Grace for liturgical resources

48. Giving for Life Website URL www.parishresources.org.uk/givingforlife
All Churches
Incorporates annual review in good practice:
Flexible and (can be) light touch
Can use “A Parish Funding Programme” (on web)
Promotes PGS as area for action

49. A Simple Giving Programme
Website URL
Smaller Churches
Pledge based giving programme
Community Engagement
Presentation and Leaflet Templates
Easy to Run

50. Reimagining the Offertory
Where we stand today and what we need to do in order to grow

51. Why pass a bag or plate around during a service?

52. Two Reasons Collection of offerings
Offering of ourselves in worship using money as a proxy.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Cor 9:7
And they exceeded our expectations: they gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us..
2 Cor 8:5
Collection of offerings for many giving is at unrealistic levels / Giving is often static / Encourages cash mindset – giving mixed messages. / Unannounced, and little explanation as to why it’s happening
Offering of ourselves, money is the proxy. Often more a ‘collection’ than an ‘offering’ / Little sense of money being a proxy
Weekly routine can dull sense of offering.

54. Summary Let’s do it Plan to join PGS Plan a review
I will be in touch over next 2 weeks to find out
How and when you will spk to pcc
How take forward
What help you need from me